Study: Oregon’s tax system No. 2 fairest in U.S.

With taxes being top of mind for many American voters as political hopefuls sell their tax-reform ideas to the public, the personal finance website WalletHub released its annual report on the 2015’s Most & Least Fair State Tax Systems .

Here’s the rest of their news release on the findings:

Tax systems vary dramatically across states and localities. Some states don’t have a sales tax; others don’t tax income. Many families face high property-tax burdens whereas others enjoy generous tax credits. Such diversity in taxation policies begs the question: Which tax systems are most fair?

To find the answer, WalletHub analyzed the 50 states based on the fairness of their state and local tax systems. We used the results of our nationally representative survey that assessed what Americans think a “fair” state and local tax system looks like. Our analysts then ranked the states based on how closely their actual tax systems matched public perception.

States with the Fairest Tax Systems States with the Least Fair Tax Systems 1 Montana 41 Arizona 2 Oregon 42 Indiana 3 South Carolina 43 Texas 4 Delaware 44 Mississippi 5 Idaho 45 Florida 6 Minnesota 46 Illinois 7 Utah 47 Arkansas 8 Virginia 48 Hawaii 9 Colorado 49 Georgia 10 Maryland 50 Washington

Other Key Findings

The poor are most overtaxed in Washington, Hawaii and Illinois; the wealthiest 1 percent are most undertaxed in Wyoming, Nevada and Florida.

The middle class is most overtaxed in Arkansas, New York and Mississippi.

Most Americans think “fair” state and local tax systems impose higher taxes on higher-income households than on lower-income households.

Conservatives and liberals generally agree on what a “fair” tax system looks like. However, conservatives are more supportive of slightly higher taxes on the poor and lower taxes on the wealthy.

Current state and local tax systems are, on average, extremely unfair. While most Americans — liberals and conservatives — think a progressive tax system is most fair, virtually every state has regressive state and local tax structures.

Both “blue” states and “red” states are found to overtax the poor and undertax the rich, relative to what most Americans consider “fair.”